Hiding Out in Hollywood (Celebrity Love)

Chapter Fourteen

"Where's Raine?"

Not today, Emily thought. While Kami wasn't someone she wanted to talk to on a regular morning, today was the worst possible day she could have chosen to ask Emily a question. Especially about Raine. She'd been cornered, though, with nowhere else to escape to in the yoga classroom.

"You'd probably know better than I would," Emily replied. She stretched her left leg out to the side and reached for her toes, bringing her nose to her knee. She hoped Kami would leave it there and go back to giggling and gossiping with the group of girls who would normally be vying for Raine's attention if he was in class.

Emily had gone to Raine's house yesterday like Shelby had insisted she do. Fighting the giant butterflies in her stomach, she had rehearsed what she planned to say. Nothing she came up with had seemed quite right, and she'd known she would have to wing it when she saw him.

She had punched in the code to his gate with shaky fingers, but she'd pulled herself together by the time she got to his front door. The problem was, he hadn't been home. Or if he had been, he hadn't answered the door. She hadn't heard from him since he'd left her apartment on Sunday night. It was now Tuesday morning, and already about ten minutes later than Raine usually arrived to class.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kami's voice dripped with phony sympathy.

Emily's heart constricted. She kept her head facing her knee. "No clue what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on," Kami snapped. "I've seen the way you look at each other, and you're always flirting before class. Both of you didn't show up yesterday, and then you walked in here this morning looking all sullen about something. He's not here for the second day in a row. I want to know if you did something to chase him away."

It had also crossed Emily's mind that Raine might be a no-show today, and that it could mean he was avoiding her. Hearing the same suspicion from Kami made her feel nauseous.

"We don't flirt before class, and I sure don't keep tabs on where he is."

"Oooh, defensive," Kami said. "Did he dump you?"

Give me strength, Emily thought. She summoned every last shred of patience she possessed and raised her head up to look at Kami. "How could he dump me? I was never dating him."

"Sure you weren't," Kami sang. "I'll find out the real story. I know people."

"You go find out the real story, then." Emily extended her other leg out and reached for her toes.

"I am curious, though."

"About?" Emily didn't care what Kami was curious about, but she knew Kami wouldn't leave her alone until she asked. It was better to get this over with.

"What you really want with Raine," Kami said. "I like him, and I don't want to see him dragged through the mud like you did with Cory Sampson."

Be the better person, Emily willed herself as she choked back a retort. Kami had to be antagonizing her on purpose, hoping to either dig up some dirt about her relationship with Raine, or to start a fight that would be sure to draw the attention of their classmates. If Emily let herself react, she knew whatever she said or did would wind up in Wally's hands or show up on another entertainment site before today's yoga class was over.

"I wouldn't believe everything you read in the tabloids or hear in a song lyric." She gave Kami a tight smile.

"Guess I'll have to ask Cory about that for myself." A smug look appeared on Kami's face. "I saw him and that Jesse guy play their song at a club this weekend, so I went up to Cory to introduce myself afterward. He looked pretty interested when I told him you were in my yoga class. We talked for a while and he asked me to have drinks with him tonight."